Berlin Day 5
Berlin to Leicester
The end had arrived, but not before one last sightseeing run around the city.
Berlin Day 4
Spandau (Without the Ballet)
To avoid the busyness of the city, I thought it'd be nice to visit Spandau Citadel and Charlottenburg Palace. It'd mean something new for us both, and hopefully wouldn't be too much time on our feet.
Berlin Day 3
Generali Berlin Half Marathon
We were finally about to run our third Super Half, the halfway point for this series. My three most recent ‘proper’ half marathons have seen steady improvements on the road back to my pre-pandemic times. Each of those races are ones where I’ve resisted the temptation to push too hard too soon, but have still had to walk at some point towards the end of each race. In fact, I’ve not ran an entire ra …
Berlin Day 2
Hasenheide parkrun
parkrun, sightseeing, and carb-loading. Maybe a more active day than usual for before a half marathon.
Berlin Day 1
Passports to Berlin
To avoid the stress of potentially arriving late due to traffic or having train cancellations or delays, I’d travelled down to South Ruislip last night. This morning we could have an easier start to the day, and take the underground train to London City airport a little after 08:00. The journey there is one that is relatively simple, and mostly hassle-free, even with luggage. The only downside to …
Berlin
Trip Planning
Berlin. The most symbolic aspect of the Cold War as a place where East met West with a wall that kept the population apart. I first visited this city sixteen years ago with James, a friend from University who I've seen much of the world with. It was a short trip, but we saw the key sights and moved on to several more European cities. Then four years ago, in the shadow of the pandemic, I visited fo …
Germany
Epilogue
I may not have needed a COVID-19 test to return to the UK, but the rules as they were at the time meant that I needed a PCR test 2 days after arriving back. It feels like I'm one of the few people that have never had any sort of COVID-19 test, as since March 2020 I've stayed mostly a home, and haven't had many opportunities to come across people. Of course, going to Germany changed that, and so tw …
Germany Day 11
Cologne
Today I'd get to explore Cologne, and Drachenfels. It was potentially a very busy day, which had to run to schedule due to a four hour train journey at the end.
Germany Day 10
Frankfurt and Trier
Sometimes things don't go to plan and you just have to deal with it, and have different adventures as a result.
Germany Day 9
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
The time had come to leave Munich and too see more of the places Germany had to offer, starting with Rothenburg and then Frankfurt.
Germany Day 8
Into the Eagles Nest
Whilst places aren't evil, sometimes the evil actions of despicable people taint those places. Obersalzberg is one of those places that I felt needed to be seen whilst I was in the area.
Germany Day 7
Legacy of Ludwig II
Today was all about the building projects of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, starting off with Linderhof, and moving on to the magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle.
Germany Day 6
Munich
Today I moved on from Leipzig, to Munich and visited the horrific site of the Dachau Concentration Camp. This was then followed by exploring Munich, and trying some more German food.
Germany Day 5
Colditz and Leipzig
Today I'd be visiting Colditz Castle, but it was a trek to get there. Could everything possibly fall into place and go according to plan? Only time would tell…
Germany Day 4
Dresden
Now the railway journey could begin, starting by travelling to Dresden, exploring there, and taking a train to Kurort-Rathen to hike up to Bastion Bridge. Just what you want the day after doing 40 miles on foot.
Germany Day 3
BMW Berlin Marathon 2021
At last the Berlin Marathon was about to start, a race that for months I wondered if it would actually happen. Question is, how would the heatwave we were forecast affect it?
Germany Day 2
Marathon Expo and the Wall
Today I needed to collect my race number, and the rest of the day would be for relaxing... or not.
Germany Day 1
The Beginning
My first trip since the pandemic started, today would mostly be about seeing how travel has changed, and getting to my destination: Berlin.
Germany
Trip Planning
After the lost year, it's finally time to be back travelling, and to see new sights and cities. Planning would no longer be quite the same as before…
Europe Day 4
Napoli
Our swift tour of Berlin was over, and we were now onto our next country: Italy. Here we'd be starting in Naples and moving on from city to city by train until reaching the final country of our trip. For now we'd explore a city that seemed a bit of a dump.
Europe Day 3
The Berlin Wall
Having failed once to find the Berlin Wall, we had a second attempt and spent the day using the public transport to get from place to place. It was a lot easier on our already weary feet.
Europe Day 2
Berlin in a Day
We spent a day exploring the city of Berlin on foot - from a little further than the Fernsehturm, all the way back to the hotel via many sights such as Checkpoint Charlie, and the Brandenburg Gate.
Europe Day 1
Berlin
For our next adventure we would be travelling around Germany, Italy, and Greece; starting with Berlin. Everything was planned by ourselves, and would be a bit of a practice run for an eventual trip to Australia.